Mental Health Issues in Adolescents After a Natural Disaster
Author Information
Author(s): Kar Nilamadhab, Binaya Kumar Bastia
Hypothesis
What is the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder, major depression, and generalized anxiety disorder in adolescents after a natural disaster?
Conclusion
The study found that a significant number of adolescents exhibited post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety symptoms after a natural disaster.
Supporting Evidence
- 26.9% of adolescents were diagnosed with PTSD.
- 17.6% had major depressive disorder.
- 12.0% were diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder.
- 39.0% of those with a psychiatric diagnosis had comorbidity.
Takeaway
After a big storm, many kids felt really sad, scared, or worried, and some had all three feelings at the same time.
Methodology
The study used the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for children and adolescents to evaluate psychiatric symptoms in adolescents from two high schools in Orissa, India, 14 months after a super-cyclone.
Potential Biases
Potential bias due to reliance on self-reported symptoms and absence of standardized diagnostic instruments in the local language.
Limitations
The study did not assess pre-cyclone psychiatric morbidity and lacked a control group for comparison.
Participant Demographics
The sample consisted of 108 adolescents, with 60 females and 48 males, primarily from middle socioeconomic status.
Statistical Information
P-Value
0.004
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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